Jasper, Alabama

Episode 117 / 2 May 2019 / 153 min / full

Sexier Than Coal

"Jasper's in north central Alabama here ... This is in Walker County, Zip Code 35501, Area Code 205." about 0:07:17

The case: Murder of Randy McCuller (November 30th, 1997). Read the case file.

The figures, as told in 2019

Population

13,854

Median age

38.6

Median household income

$39,800

Median home value

$110,000

Two-bedroom rent

$683 a month

Cost of living

83.3

Religious

65%

Property crime

▲ three a covered namees

Violent crime

▲ more than twice

History, in brief

• Lorenzo Dow established the first trading post in the area in the early 1800s. about 0:08:31
• The town motto is "experience from the past, knowledge for the future". about 0:07:51
• In 1822 Dr. Gordon Musgrove donated the land for the town and built a log cabin that served as courthouse, school and church. about 0:09:22
• The town was named by Hugh Lawler in memory of Sergeant William Jasper, a Revolutionary War hero of the Battle of Fort Moultrie in South Carolina. about 0:09:54
• The area was settled around 1815 when Dow arrived and was incorporated in 1886. about 0:10:01
• During the Civil War Union troops marching towards Selma burned the courthouse and several other buildings. about 0:10:18
• After the Civil War the railroad came through and the population grew from 200 people in 1886 to more than 3,000 in 1890. about 0:12:28
• In 1891 the newspaper reported six coal mines, two sandstone quarries and 400 coke ovens. about 0:13:32
• In 1891 the town also had a foundry, a machine shop, two saw mills, a brick works, four hotels and two banks. about 0:14:01
• Franklin Roosevelt visited the town in 1940 to attend the memorial service of his friend William Bankhead. about 0:14:34
• Jasper is the county seat of Walker County and sits in the middle of the Warrior Coal Fields, the second largest coal fields in the nation. about 0:14:50
• Jasper appears in the SciFi Channel show Town of the Living Dead. about 0:16:12
• The wrestler Butterbean is from Jasper. about 0:16:28
• The actress Tallulah Bankhead is from Jasper. about 0:17:08

The reviews read out

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